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Been reading in the news about huge
plagues of flies around the country?

I've seen on the news about various villages being overun with flies
- sounds utterly horrid doesn't it.

If you have problems with a lot of flies it could be because there's
something they consider yummy in your garden. Check out the garden - check
the compost heap hasn't got a major problem - a few flies is normal -
cover veggies and fruit witha layer of grass clippings as I've found this
stops any problem.

If you have a huge fly problem and can't find anything obvious, ask the
neighbours and then get in touch with the environmental health at your
local council and they'll be able to help you more.

You could try fly sprays but I think they're expensive and quite revolting
(Can be very bad for other creatures which are beneficial) and if you
remove the problem causing the flies they'll go away.

Dr Dave Goulson led the four-year study at a dozen landfill
sites, which were plagued by flies every summer.
30 Sep 2004

Dr Goulson says fly numbers could be cut by composting
waste like kitchen scraps and garden clippings, instead of sending it
to landfill, where it provides rich food for flies.

It now looks like flies are on the increase - Dr Goulson
suggests the warm winters are partly to blame - "Traditionally, the
cold British winter killed off most insects and it took them until well
into the spring to recover their numbers, but milder weather has seriously
affected this cycle."

This sounds - and from the TV footage I've seen - looks
utterly gross.

A plague of flies infests an Oxfordshire
village, forcing a primary school to close its kitchens.. More than
30 homes in Crowmarsh Gifford, near Wallingford, have been plagued
by the outbreak.
16 Sep 2005

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list of free stuff for your garden as well as articles about gardening,
free seeds, special offers on gardening tools and equipment as well as
loads of other info on gardening in the UK.